To Be a Gryffindor
by JolieFille
Summary: Jane looked up at Remus Lupin again to get a better look at him. Tall and thin, he had light brown hair that fell delicately around the sides of his face. It suited him, Jane thought. But it wasn’t really suitable for a Gryffindor, was it?
1. The Prefect

_A/N: I will say now, this isn't going to be a pervy Lolita-type romance. Not that I have anything against pervy Lolita-type stories...I just didn't want you to have certain expectations…that's all. ) _

_Also, I hate myself. This was going to be a bloody one-shot, but then I got sucked into developing my OC and stuff…so…here we are, another short story by yours truly. Alright, let the reading commence!_

* * *

**To Be a Gryffindor**

**Chapter One: The Prefect**

* * *

Peering slightly past the boat's edge, the reflection of the waning moon could be seen on the surface of the dark waters. The boat rocked gently as others shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They were nervous too, just like her. Well, who wouldn't be on their first night away from home at an enchanted castle? Jane wouldn't show her nervousness though. Especially not in front of the older students. Well, student. There was only one older student with them in the boat, and Jane certainly didn't want him to think she was as timid and frightened by her new environment as everyone else in her year was. 

The older boy had introduced himself as Remus Lupin. He had said he was a sixth year and that he would be riding in the boat with them to the castle. He was a prefect too, according to the hairy half-giant who had greeted her and the other first years when they had first gotten off the Hogwarts Express. All of the older students in the boats were prefects; it was their job to make sure that the boats full of first years had safely crossed the lake in time for the sorting.

Jane felt her stomach go in a knot at the mere thought of the sorting. She was an only child, so she had no siblings in any of the houses - not like Anastasia Vance, a first year she had met on the train who had told her that siblings tended to be the same house. Anastasia had three older sisters, all of whom had been Gryffindors. All Jane had were her parents' background, which wasn't of much help. Her father had been a Gryffindor and her mother a Hufflepuff. She didn't think she was like either of her parents, so she couldn't tell which house she'd land in. Not that she cared very much. No, Jane was much more concerned with fitting in. What if she didn't get along with anyone in her house? What if they didn't like her? What if the sorting hat made a mistake and put her in the _wrong_ house? She was going to be at this school for seven years, and not having friends would make things very difficult for her.

_It won't be so bad_, she told herself repeatedly as she watched the man named Hagrid scolding a student in his boat for trying to throw another student overboard. After all, things had gone smoothly so far. She boarded the train on time. The lady with the sweets had been nice to her when Jane had run into her outside her compartment, accidentally rattling her trolley and nearly knocking over some of the food. The girls she had shared her compartment with were nice enough; they all seemed to have known each other and had been chatting with one another most of the time without paying much attention to Jane, but every now and then the girl named Anastasia Vance had made attempts to include her in their conversations.

Remus Lupin had been nice too, so far. He had smiled warmly at all the first years who had gotten into his boat and had welcomed them to Hogwarts, assuring them that while they might be nervous now, they would soon get used to the ways of the school and would come to see it as their home. Jane thought that perhaps he would ask them for their names, but he didn't. It then occurred to her that Remus Lupin belonged to a house already, and probably already had a bunch of friends in his own house. He probably had enough names in his memory to be getting on with and needn't have troubled himself with learning their names.

_He's a prefect, so he's smart…maybe he's in Ravenclaw then_. Jane thought to herself. But almost immediately she dismissed the idea as she took in the badge on his robes. It was red and gold and had a lion on it. He was a Gryffindor.

So as the boat continued its course down the lake, Jane tried to remember what she knew about Gryffindors. They were known for their bravery. The sorting hat, which she was destined to put on later that evening, once belonged to Godric Gryffindor. That was it, really. Jane looked up at Remus Lupin again to get a better look at him. Tall and thin, he had light brown hair that fell delicately around the sides of his face. It suited him, Jane thought. But it wasn't really suitable for a Gryffindor, was it? She had always imagined Gryffindors to look more or less like her dad—burly and fearless-looking. After all, they were courageous people, weren't they? Jane's dad was an auror at the ministry of magic, chasing dark wizards most of the time. That was the height of bravery for Jane, so she tended to imagine that all the other Gryffindors were like her dad.

Remus Lupin looked nothing like that though.

He looked like what Jane had imagined Hufflepuffs to look like, mainly because his thin frame reminded her of her mother, who had been a Hufflepuff. Still, if he was a Gryffindor, and if the sorting hat was never wrong (Jane's father assured her of that), Remus Lupin was supposed to be a brave guy then.

Jane spent the remainder of the boat ride trying to imagine how Remus Lupin might have demonstrated bravery during his life.

Perhaps he had saved someone's life once. He had rescued a young girl from the giant squid which lived at the bottom of the lake. She was hanging out with some of her friends during lunch when it happened. They had been sitting at the water's edge, dangling their feet in the water, when the girl slipped and fell into the water. Remus Lupin heard her screams for help, and dove into the lake, fully clothed just as the girl's flailing hands disappeared underneath the surface. The girl had begun to sink, but Remus Lupin had grabbed her hand only moments before the giant squid could wrap one of its tentacles around her…

That seemed a bit dramatic.

Maybe Remus Lupin would take part in the war that was slowly beginning to break out in the wizarding world. Maybe the school would come under attack by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers—the death eaters. Perhaps the girl would be cornered by three or so death eaters, ready to kill her. One of them would raise his wand, ready to strike, but then Remus Lupin would appear out of nowhere, disarming all of the death eaters at once. Upon summoning their wands, he would snap them to pieces, causing the unarmed death eaters to immediately disperse. With great urgency, he would take the hand of the girl and hurry her towards safer grounds…

Still too dramatic.

Perhaps Remus Lupin had protected the girl from a bullying professor. She had done something stupid outside of class, and having been caught, was getting told off by her professor when suddenly, Remus Lupin appeared and took the blame, saying it was his fault that the girl had acted in the manner which she did; he had made her. And then he would nod solemnly as the professor proceeded to punish him, ripping his prefect's badge off the front of his robes as a demotion…

Jane's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden jolt of uneasiness in her stomach. Why had she pictured herself as 'the girl' in all of those scenarios?

"You're awfully quiet…nervous?"

Startled, Jane looked up to see Remus Lupin smiling warmly at her.

"Oh…uh…"

"I remember being a complete mess on my first night at Hogwarts." He said, still smiling. "You're definitely more composed than I ever was."

Jane nodded uncertainly, trying to think of something to say. She had _just_ been thinking of him, she couldn't let him know that…

"I'm just nervous about what house I'm going to be in." she finally said. "I don't have any siblings to base my guesses off of."

"Well, siblings aren't necessarily put in the same house. They can be, but not always."

"Really?"

"I have a friend who's a Gryffindor, but his younger brother is a Slytherin." Remus Lupin had said, looking at Jane rather amusedly. "Siblings may have the same blood, but they don't have the same personalities. You're sorted according to the type of person you are."

"Oh." Jane said simply, feeling somewhat stupid now.

* * *

Jane was sorted into Gryffindor. 

The other girls who had been sorted in with her and who were now her roommates were fairly nice. She liked her potions instructor, Professor Slughorn, who had taken a liking to her when she had confirmed with him that her father was indeed Blake Williamson, the hit wizard–turned–auror who had recently been given the Order of Merlin, First Class for his services to the ministry of magic.

She was quite terrified though of Professor McGonagall, the head of her house. And just about everyone else in the school whom she hadn't met yet—which was pretty much everyone, come to think of it, aside from the other first years she shared classes with, and of course, Remus Lupin.

Jane didn't like Remus Lupin's friends though, or at least the boy named James. He was quite rude. After her first day of classes, she along with Gary Harris and Louis Watson, two other Gryffindors in her year, had sat down on a sofa in their common room to work on their transfiguration assignments together, when a boy with messy black hair and glasses approached them.

"Hey, midgets…why don't you run along to the library or something to do your work? These seats are for the big kids!" he said rather condescendingly as he smiled at them.

"We were here first though." Louis replied as he attempted a glare, but failed miserably as he was rather distracted by the older student's unkempt hair.

"At this school?"

Louis glanced at Jane and Gary with a look of defeat in his eyes, and in the next moment they were gathering their books and rolls of parchment and stuffing them into their bags.

"James—"

Jane had glanced up as she zipped her bag shut. Remus Lupin had just joined James, followed by two other boys—a short plump boy with dark brown hair and a tall, good-looking boy with piercing grey eyes. The two of them were grinning appreciatively at James, while Remus had looked slightly put out.

"James," he started again as the first years began to head towards the portrait hole, "did you really have to do that? They were studying and everything…and they're new here, you probably frightened them."

James had simply laughed as he fell onto the couch, grabbing Remus Lupin's arm and pulling him down with him. "That was the point. Now, just have a seat, Moony old boy—Merlin, not on my lap!"

There was a fit of laughter from the corner in the room where Remus Lupin and his friends were now sitting, but Jane did not turn back to watch. She had heard enough anyway. She now knew why Remus Lupin was a Gryffindor.


	2. The Wonder That is Remus Lupin

A/N: so I'm sure we all agree that I suck for my short chapters and insanely long update periods. I'm sorry, but I'm a busy person. I know, I still suck. Proceed with the floggings. (

* * *

To Be a Gryffindor

Chapter Two: The Wonder that is Remus Lupin

* * *

"Oh no."

Jane had turned a corner and had arrived at yet another gloomily unfamiliar corridor. She sighed, glancing around, half-wishing someone—anyone, even one of the Hogwarts ghosts—would randomly appear to guide her to her next class. Flying lessons with Madam Hooch were due to start in ten minutes, and she had yet to find her way out of the castle. The thought of this made Jane groan a little; even after she got outside, she still needed to find the quidditch pitch.

Madam Hooch was the only instructor of hers Jane hadn't met yet, but she already had reason to worry; Hooch was known to be a stickler for punctuality—or at least that was what second year Harold Boyle had told her yesterday. Harold was a Gryffindor just like Jane, but with one year already under his belt, he had confidently obliged Jane with filling her in on the dispositions of all her professors and what she could expect from them. McGonagall, the head of her house, was strict but quite fair, as she could already tell by the five points she had docked from Jane for arriving to class tardy and the five points she had earned half an hour later for a perfect transfiguration of a match into a needle on her first try. "Old Slug," as Harold had bitterly referred to Professor Slughorn, was a good teacher in spite of his tendency towards favoritism. Naturally, Jane did not bother to mention her father to Harold, whose famed talents as an auror had likely been passed on to Jane, according to Slughorn. She didn't see any reason to make Harold feel depressed about being unconnected.

In any case, he was quite intelligent. He had gotten all E's and O's at the end of his previous term. Plus, he had offered her various pointers on how to study for dry subjects like Professor Binns's History of Magic and Professor Sinistra's Astronomy. Harold had also assured her that Professor Flitwick and Sprout were amongst the kinder professors at Hogwarts, and that she oughtn't get too attached to Professor Ratti, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, because apparently the job was jinxed and no teacher had ever lasted for more than a year in that position.

Overall, Hogwarts was shaping up to be a decent experience for Jane. She had some strict professors and some boring ones, but none of whom were outright horrible. Her workload wasn't overbearing just yet, and she had become friends with the boys and girls in her house and year. It had been quite the relief to find friends in her own house—Jane had been rather worried about spending her meals and all the rest of her free time alone—it had made the transition into a whole new school all the less frightening. Well, except for right now.

Jane had reached the end of the corridor, only to find a staircase leading upward. Surely going higher up wouldn't get her closer to outside. Sighing and turning on her heel to return to where she had come from, Jane quickened her pace. She didn't have a watch on her, but she guessed she had only a few minutes left until she needed to be outside with her classmates. _Why_ did Hogwarts have to be so big?

"Can't find your way?"

Jane squeaked, dropping her copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One_. She had not heard anyone coming down from the staircase she had left behind. Turning around once again, she found herself coming face to face with none other than Remus Lupin.

"Sorry to have startled you," he said quickly as he walked towards her, giving her what looked like a suppressed smile. Jane felt herself go warm as she dived for her book.

"No, it's alright. I—I just didn't hear any footsteps." She replied. Now cradling her book in her arms, Jane glanced up at the tall Gryffindor prefect in front of her. "Do you know how to get to the quidditch pitch? I have flying lessons in a few minutes."

Remus Lupin was still smiling pleasantly at her. "Yes, you were actually going in the opposite direction"—he pointed to the staircase he had just come down from—"that leads to the astronomy tower. The quickest way out is to go all the way back to the ground floor, and go down that corridor opposite the Great Hall. There's a side door towards the end of it that leads to the courtyard, and from there you can see the quidditch pitch."

Jane nodded, quickly trying to process all the information Remus Lupin had given her. The ground floor? What floor were they on? And where was the Great Hall? She and her friends had just followed a bunch of the older students out of the common room every morning for breakfast and had stumbled in late and slightly disillusioned for lunch and dinner every day so far…

Remus Lupin had probably detected signs of apprehension on her face, as his smiled broadened slightly. "Would you like me to show you how to get there?"

Jane blushed. "Er…yes, thanks."

* * *

"So how are all of your classes going—er—I'm sorry, what was your name?" Remus Lupin asked as he and Jane turned the corner and headed down another corridor. "I don't think you ever told me when we first met, on the boat ride here."

Jane looked up quickly at him. "The boat ride?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows in surprise. He had remembered her from the boat ride her first night at Hogwarts! But he didn't remember her name. Well, of course he didn't, she had never told him. "Er—Jane. I'm Jane." She said. "And my classes are going fine."

Remus Lupin nodded and smiled. "That's good, Jane. Do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"Oh, yes. I really like it here. It was a bit scary at first, but I'm starting to get used to things." Jane replied, clutching her book tighter as she struggled to keep up with the long legged Remus Lupin, whose single stride covered as much ground as two or three steps of Jane's.

He smiled briefly at her as they made another turn and began heading down a balcony that overlooked what seemed to be over a dozen sets of staircases, all zigzagging in different directions. "That's good. It usually only takes a few days to get past those jitters from being in a new place. Pretty soon this castle won't seem that big."

Jane looked uncertainly at Remus Lupin. "You sure about that?"

He laughed. "I'm positive."

Remus Lupin and Jane stopped in front of an opening in the balcony, where the top of what Jane realized a staircase should have been.

"We'll give it a few seconds." Said Remus Lupin, searching over the balcony. "It'll come."

"Er—what will come?" Jane asked, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

And just as she had suspected, a staircase that extended to the ground floor had slowly begun to rotate on its axis. The top of the staircase was making its way to them.

Jane watched in awed silence as the great stone staircase came to a gradual stop in front of them. "These things shift pretty quickly," Remus Lupin said as he took a hold of the banister and hopped on, "best get a move on."

But Jane froze. She was staring at the tiny crevice between the top of the staircase and the floor beneath her feet. Obviously, she wouldn't fall through. But what if the moment she made a movement towards the staircase it decided to shift? She felt her heart race at the image of herself falling—it must have been about twenty feet, the distance to the ground floor. It _had_ to be, the height of the ground floor corridors had accommodated Hagrid the half-giant, after all. And she would plummet to her death (or at least some serious injuries) right in front of Remus Lupin.

"Jane?"

She glanced up, apprehensive. Remus Lupin was looking at her expectantly. She frowned, bowing her head slightly so as to avoid eye contact with him. "I don't know—"

"Come on." He said, extending his hand to her. Jane looked up again and saw that he was smiling slightly at her. "I don't think anyone in the history of Hogwarts has had the stairs shift on them and sent them plummeting to their deaths."

Still a tad frightened at the idea of falling, Jane smiled in spite of herself and slowly reached for Remus Lupin's outstretched hand. His fingers had closed around her knuckles and she took a step forward. It wasn't until Remus Lupin had let out a small gasp when she realized the staircase had begun to shift—one leg on the stair, the other still on the balcony.

She hadn't even thought to scream. It had just happened so quickly. Jane felt the ground shifting like two planes beneath her, and it didn't occur to her to move either leg. The floors were moving, and all she could feel was her right arm being yanked forward. She flew forward—well, it was hardly flying, just a few awkwardly directed steps forward—and fell against the thing that had pulled her safely on to the stairs. That thing was Remus Lupin, of course.

"Are you alright?" he asked, one hand still interlocked with Jane's hand, the other loosely gripping her shoulder.

Breathing heavily, Jane nodded. She was suddenly aware of just how close she and Remus Lupin were standing. But the staircase was shifting and she was too afraid to move away from him. So she didn't. She stayed there with him, taking refuge in his clutches and the comfort they brought her until the staircase had stopped moving and Remus Lupin had walked her all the way down the steps. Pointing the way to the door that led outside where Jane would get a clear view of the quidditch pitch, Remus Lupin asked once more if she was alright, glancing concernedly at her.

"…you seem a bit shaky, are you sure?" he asked when Jane responded that she was fine.

And thanking him for his help, Jane quickly turned on her heel and headed down the corridor leading to the door, leaving Remus Lupin behind her.

What was he talking about? A bit shaky…she was cool as a cucumber! Sure, her legs were a bit unsteady and felt like two wobbly licorice wands underneath her. And sure, her head was spinning a little from the brief interaction with her house prefect, but she certainly wasn't shaken up! Struggling to maintain her balance as she pulled open the door and headed outside, Jane replayed the short moments of Remus Lupin pulling her to safety in her head. The moments that followed—him looking at her with such earnest concern—asking if she was alright because she looked shaky…had he asked because he thought her frightened from the staircase incident, or frightened of being in such close proximity to himself? Not that she was frightened of him, of course. He was just and older student, a Hogwarts veteran. It was only natural to be in awe at an older student who had survived what she was still trying to adjust to. And not only had he adjusted, but he had distinguished himself from his fellow students by being a prefect; he was special, so obviously, there was nothing wrong with being in awe—admiring and respecting him to the point that his presence was slightly frightening and caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach.

Legs still wobbly, Jane slowly made her way to the quidditch pitch, thinking about the wonder that was Remus Lupin, only to receive a scolding from Madam Hooch when she arrived five minutes late for class, which has cost Gryffindor five points. Or was it ten? Jane hadn't quite heard Madam Hooch's reprimands…


	3. To Be a Marauder

_A/N: So, if you were reading this story before, you might want to go back and reread it since it's taken me forever to get back to it! Um, sorry, by the way. Heh. :P _

Chapter Three: To Be a Marauder

* * *

It had been several weeks since the incident on the shifting staircase. Naturally, Remus Lupin had become something of a hero to Jane. He was the Gryffindor in shining armor, the pantheon of all things brave and kind. He was the sweet older boy—the prefect—who held doors open for people and guided confused first years like herself. To Jane, Remus Lupin could do no wrong. He was perfect in every way, except in the company he kept.

There were three other boys in his year whom Remus Lupin seemed to be particularly good friends with—the same boys who had shooed away Jane and her own friend from the comfortable couch in the Gryffindor common room their first week at Hogwarts. James, Sirius and Peter were their names. Peter was fairly nice, except when in the company of James or Sirius, the handsomest (and loudest, and meanest) boys in the group. Jane didn't like James or Sirius. Frankly, she was a bit afraid of them.

They were always bullying other students around, usually just for laughs (and laughs they got; they were the most popular students in the school), and Jane was terrified of the day that they might choose to harass her. And so it only seemed sensible to avoid the situation altogether by trying her best to not cross paths with them.

It worked for the most part. Jane had a pretty good idea of when to expect Remus Lupin's friends to show up in places like the common room or the Great Hall, and she did a good job of making herself unobtrusive in their presence. It was all a little annoying though, because wherever they went, Remus Lupin usually followed, and vice versa. It was rare for Jane to ever catch her favorite prefect by himself.

Not that she would ever go out of her way to approach him. She would sooner allow James to use her as a quaffle for quidditch practice. But still. It was nice to admire him from afar without any of his friends around to make him act un-prefect-like.

But then there was that one weekend—the first weekend that the students went to the village of Hogsmeade. Of course, Jane wasn't allowed to go since she was a first year, but it was something she looked forward to anyway; all of the older students would clear out, freeing up the castle for the first and second years. Jane was determined to spend at least a couple of hours curled up against the sofa in the Gryffindor common room with a book. A few hours of sofa time was a rare treat when you shared a common room with "the marauders," as they called themselves.

Jane trudged down the steps leading out of her dormitory, clutching her library copy of _Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey_ _Cried_ by Gulliver Pokeby. She glanced around the common room, which was fairly empty save for a few of her fellow first years sitting on the floor playing a game of exploding snap, a pair of second years heading towards the portrait hole, probably off to get some fresh air, and then—the portrait guarding the room had shifted open, and a group of loud, older students came tumbling in. Jane felt her jaw tighten. It was them.

Sirius and James led the group in, arms around each other and laughing hysterically.

"Year-long ban from Hogsmeade," James chuckled, glancing over at Sirius. "Completely worth it, just for McGonagall's reaction…"

Sirius glanced over his shoulder to the boys walking behind him. "Oi, Moony. Wormtail. You two are going to have to find a way to sneak firewhiskeys back to us the rest of the year, now that Rosmerta won't sell to us anymore."

Jane stood rooted to her spot. Moony? Wormtail?

"I'm surprised McGonagall only banned you two." Came Remus Lupin's voice behind Sirius.

James was still laughing. "We each got seventeen days of detention—"

"_Because that is the minimum number of years you must have to legally purchase firewhiskey, Potter_!" Sirius declared in a voice that sounded uncannily like Professor McGonagall's. "Two and a half weeks. That's nothing. Remember last year when I got a month for—"

Sirius and his friends came to a stop at the sofa, a couple of feet from where Jane was standing. She held her book tightly to her chest, as if to use it as a shield.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair as he smiled down at Jane. She thought it was condescending and was therefore petrified. "Were you going to sit here?" he asked, pointing to the sofa.

"Oh! Uh…well—"

"Lovely!" James said happily as he plopped down, taking up the entire sofa in a full-body stretch.

Peter and Sirius laughed, and Jane felt her heart race. She didn't know what to say. But then Remus Lupin came out from behind Peter and Sirius, pulling them apart with a grace and grandeur that made it seem like he was parting a sea or something. While Jane felt hopeful that he would make everything better, she also knew that his presence did nothing to slow down her heart.

She saw that he had glared at James. Not an angry glare though. It was more of an annoyed glare that ended with one rolling their eyes at the ceiling. He turned back to Jane and smiled pleasantly at her. "What book is that?"

It took her a few seconds to realize what Remus Lupin was talking about. She glanced down at the book she was holding. "Oh! Um—"

Instead of saying the title, she simply turned the book around so he could see the name. It didn't occur to her to actually say it herself.

"Gulliver Pokeby?" laughed Sirius just as Remus Lupin was about to open his mouth to say something. "Then that book's bound to be rubbish. That guy's a tosser—What?" he asked, turning to his prefect friend, who had nudged him in the arm.

"_I_ thought it was an alright book," Remus Lupin interjected, and at once Jane realized he was trying to communicate to Sirius to be polite, as he was looking at him meaningfully. He then turned to Jane though and smiled. "But you should just read for yourself and see."

Jane simply nodded, wanting very much to get away from the marauders now. But it seemed that James wouldn't have it.

"What is she, a friend of yours?" he asked, grinning at Remus Lupin from the sofa. "I thought it was just the four of us!"

"Yeah, you can't go inducting new people into our group without clearance, mate. You signed the contracts in blood!" Sirius added as he walked to the sofa and sat down, forcing James to move his legs and sit up himself.

Jane's eyes widened. In blood?

Peter, whom Jane had almost forgotten about since he was so quiet, came forward and smiled at her. "He's just kidding about the blood part." He said as he took a seat in the big comfy chair across from his friends.

Oh. _Obviously _a joke.

James was still grinning. "Want to sit with us?" he asked as he and his friends scooted down to make room for Remus Lupin, who was the skinniest of the boys and easily sank into a seat at the end of the sofa.

Jane felt her heart rate pick up again. She glanced around to see if there were any more of the marauders standing around who James might have been speaking to. But no, they were all seated in front of her. James was talking to her.

Despite the politeness of the question and the smile on his face, James could not have had good intentions, could he? Jane simply stood there, afraid to answer. He would probably say something mean to her if she said no. He would probably tell her to go away or something if she said yes. She hated situations like these.

She didn't really know what to do except to look to Remus Lupin for help. He simply leaned over to glance down the sofa at James, probably to look at him warily like he did with Sirius. "Leave her alone, Prongs." She heard him mutter.

But James only laughed. "Aw, we're just messing around. Jenny's got enough of a sense of humor to know that, doesn't she?"

She swallowed. "It's Jane." And without further ado, she slowly backed away from the sofas and then hurried away to find a seat elsewhere in the common room.

She found one, a chair just like the one Peter had been sitting in, not far from the marauders. Determined to forget about the awkward incident between herself and Remus Lupin's friends, Jane sat down and opened her book to read.

_Chapter One: What is an Augurey? Before delving into the rich history of the augurey and how's and why's of it being seen as a death omen, we must first understand what the augurey is and how to spot one..._

Jane heard the marauders explode with laughter over something funny. She glanced up and tried to see, but they seemed to have slumped back in their seats so Jane could only see the tops of their heads, with the exception of Peter, whose side profile was in full view to her. Jane decided that he wasn't so bad, compared to James and Sirius. He laughed with them whenever they did stupid or mean things, but at least he never encouraged them.

_Augureys are thin and mournful-looking bird somewhat resembling a vulture. They are greenish-black in color, and native to Britain and Ireland…_

She heard Remus Lupin's voice from the sofa, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. He had a soft and gentle voice that was just so pleasant to hear in comparison to his friends' loud voices that were always cracking with laughter.

…_normally remaining hidden in its nest in brambles and thorns, flying only in heavy rain, the feathers of the Augurey repel ink…_

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, followed by a "Whatever, Moony."

Jane glanced up from her reading. Sirius had sat up a bit, and was patting Remus Lupin on the shoulder. Moony must have been his nickname then. She didn't like it very much, and decided that Sirius, James, or Peter must have come up with it. Remus Lupin would never come up with such stupid-sounding nickname like Moony.

"Oh-ho!" Sirius continued, still laughing. "Moony, you old dog!"

James had joined in, now sitting up a little straighter at the prospects of doing some more teasing. "Did you see the way she kept looking at him?" he asked Sirius.

"I know. It was like"—Sirius threw his arms over Remus Lupin—'Oh, Remus! My prefect in shining armor! Save me!' Save me from the big, bad sixth years!' Oh, Moony. Don't let this get to your head though. I think there are laws against sixth and first year romances."

Remus had pushed Sirius away, but Jane did not notice. She was staring at her book now.

"Just leave it, you guys." Remus Lupin's voice sounded slightly tense.

Jane heard Sirius laugh again. "Aw, come on, it's cute! You've just got a little admirer! Shame that Jenny's a mute though—"

"Jane." Came Remus Lupin's voice with a weary sigh. "Just drop it already."

But Jane didn't hear Remus Lupin correcting his friends about her name. She had already gotten up and was hurrying to the portrait hole, trying to hold back her tears until she found a more private place to cry.

And in her hurry, she didn't hear Peter hiss at his friend, "You guys—I think she heard!"

* * *

The nearest loo was full of older girls just back from Hogsmeade, gossiping about the attractive new bartender helping out Madam Rosmerta at The Three Broomsticks, and so Jane went outside. It was a cold October afternoon, so she didn't have to worry about being seen as she fell against a tree outside the castle courtyard to cry.

She could never face Remus Lupin again. He knew about her, and how she liked him, even before she knew it. And of course there was no way he would like her in return; he was a sixth year. A prefect. One of the stupid marauders. Jane was a pathetic first year who barely knew how to do any magic. He would see her and get embarrassed now. She imagined him running into her between classes, having a frightened look in his eyes and hurrying away from her, like she had some sort of disease. She wondered if she could figure out some alternate routes to her classes, so she could avoid seeing him on Tuesdays when she went to Potions.

Jane had her face buried in her hands, but she lifted her head up and fixed her gaze on the ground. She was not keen on going inside, however cold she was at the moment. She watched the shadows of the branches sway lightly along the grass, and was only vaguely aware of the rustling sound it created. Suddenly, a larger shadow—that of a person—emerged in front of her, eclipsing the shadows of the tree branches. She looked up and saw that Remus Lupin was standing in front of her.

"Hi. Can I join you for a minute?" he asked.

Jane shrugged, forcing her gaze back down to his shadow. She heard his feet crunch over some dead leaves, and a moment later he was sitting next to her on the ground.

"James and Sirius—they wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they didn't have anything to laugh about." He said when Jane didn't say anything.

She remained silent when she thought that that was not a good excuse, so he continued, "Sometimes they go too far. Making another person cry—that's crossing the line. They usually don't do that. They shouldn't."

Suddenly aware of the tears rolling down her cheeks, Jane hastily wiped them with the sleeve of her shirt.

"They're good guys, once you get to know them." He said.

Jane was still staring that the ground. "I don't want to get to know them."

He laughed. "I wouldn't either if I were in your shoes."

This made Jane laugh a little. But then she remembered she was upset and so she fell silent again.

"I'm sorry about how they acted." He finally said. "They don't think sometimes. Well, often."

Jane shrugged.

"Will you be alright?"

"I think so."

"I could take points from them if you want, but you're in the same house as them so that may not help you."

Jane smiled. She wasn't sure why Remus Lupin had decided to apologize on behalf of his friends. She would've thought that he would have been more embarrassed. Scared of approaching her. And yet here he was, braving through an awkward conversation with an awkward girl. She suddenly respected him more for not hiding in the common room with his friends. He may not have flouted school rules and played as many bold pranks as his friends did, but Jane thought he was brave of heart all the same.

* * *

The end.


End file.
